POETRY.

THOUGHTS AT NICE.*

SUNDAY, JANUARY 20TH, 1820.

BY A YOUNG LADY.

I SHALL not soon forget the solemn scene
That in the small and lowly house of God
Did there present itself. The worshippers
Were few; but all a spirit seem'd to breathe
Of holy earnestness in prayer and praise;
So were they gather'd in their Saviour's name,
To the eye
That none could doubt his presence.
The scene was touching,-much more to the heart;
For few there were, amid the little tribe,

Who told not-clad in the sad garb of woe-
That death had been among them. In a strain
Well-suited to the place the Preacher spoke,
And to the hearers; age imparted weight
To what he said; and with authority

His words went forth. He spoke of the departed;
And in their end bade the survivers see

Their own, and wisely, and in time, take heed.
That end! and it might come, they knew not when.
True, they were young; and also young were those
For whom they wept that youth was thus the time
To sow the blessed seed that would spring up
Into a glorious harvest.

:

As around

I look'd, I thought this sorrow was not o'er,-
The work not yet all done. Some were, indeed,
As to the outward eye it seem'd, glowing in health;
Their look all blooming, and their frame all strength.
But was it so indeed? That very flush

Was doubtful health: experience is not duped

By outward looks: the veil has been removed,
And I have seen as fair a show of health

Sink suddenly, and take the last sad hue:

So that I never see a rosy cheek

Without the thought, that danger may be near,—

Ay, at the door. Others, again, there were,

Who bore, methought, the stamp and mark of change,

Legibly written on their very brow;

Whose faded cheek spoke a sad tale of grief
In store for their survivers,-fruit, perhaps,
Of watching over those already gone;
Perhaps the ripening seed of that sad ill,
Long nurtured, that destroys so many hopes,
And fills so many homes with grief and woe.
Bearing this burden, hither were they come,
Ere winter had begun his iron reign;
Many afflicted, anxious to prolong,
If it were so permitted, the brief span
(Threaten'd more brief) of their existence here.
A mother brought her child, drooping and pale,
In the fond hope, that, under this mild sky,-
This genial air, the rose might bloom again,
The cheek resume its freshness, and once more
Be as it had been,-all her hope and joy.

The piety and beautiful simplicity of these lines, we think, fully justify their publication, though they may not reach any high standard of poetic excellence. What is wanting, however, in imagery, is supplied by the constant and evident presence of deep feeling.-EDIT.

She fed on hope; and hope, like love, is blind :
There is no power, even in these balmy gales,
To win the sufferer from the realm of death,
When once he has advanced so near its bounds.
The pathway may be soften'd, and its thorns
Blunted; but nought may stay him on his march.
A husband came, and brought a precious charge,—
A wife; long loved, perhaps, but not long loved
Under that tender name; and he has fears,
Already, that some evil is at work

To plunder him of this his better life:

He sees, in that pale cheek and languid eye,

The sure forebodings of his coming loss.

Well might he hasten hither! none shall blame
His fond solicitude; but sigh to think

It was not more availing.

These, and more,

Came trembling to this spot,-faint, yet in hope,
They came; but they return not: they have found
A quiet resting-place beside the shore

Of the wide ocean; there their bodies lie :

Themselves, their disembodied spirits, are embark'd
Upon a wider ocean,-that which needs

No vessel, sail, nor pilot; and whose waves,

Fathomless, reach even to eternity.

Of such it is not now for man to speak,

Save in the tender words and hopes that still

Affectionate remembrance loves to weave:

They are beyond our reach; but not our thoughts:
They call the' Almighty, "Father,"-not as we,
Who still survive; but in far higher sense.
His are they (so we deem) around his throne,

And at his footstool; not unworthy found

To walk with him in garments white and clean,
"High in salvation, and the climes of bliss."

With righteousness he clothed them, made them meet
For the inheritance of saints in light;"
And then received them to his endless joy.

IMITATED FROM HORACE.

LIB. I. ODE 4.

ENLIVEN'D by the genial spring,
The zephyrs fan, with fragrant wing,
The earth, the sky, the main ;
The engines haul the ships from shore,
The winged songsters now no more

Of wintry winds complain.
The meadows, clad in lively green,
(Before, a cheerless, barren scene,)

Luxuriant verdure yield;
No cattle now to stalls retire,
Nor seeks the swain the social fire,
But drives his team a-field.

How sweet to range the flowery mead !
To rove in verdant paths, which lead

Through nature's devious way!
Where mortal steps have seldom trod,
And where the soul, absorb'd in God,
May meditate and pray.

For lo! death's awful steps await
The splendid palaces of state,
The hovels of the poor;
And when the fiat forth is gone,
The King of terrors waits for none,
But knocks at every door.
Happy the man whose powers fulfil
His great Creator's sovereign will,

Whose peace with Heaven is made;
Who knows this earth is not his rest,
Who seeks to be supremely blest

With joys that never fade.
Not Pluto's gloomy house of woe,
Nor guilty shades that dwell below,
Can shake his steadfast soul:
He knows on whom he has believed,
By whom at last he 'll be received,

While endless ages roll.
Lesbury, 1842.

R. G.

MISSIONARY NOTICES,

Relating principally to the FOREIGN MISSIONS carried on under the
Direction of the METHODIST Conference.

MISSIONS AT THE GOLD-COAST, IN ASHANTI, AND IN OTHER PARTS OF GUINEA, WESTERN AFRICA.

WITH feelings of lively gratitude to Almighty God, we lay before the friends of the Wesleyan Missionary Society, and the Christian public generally, a series of important communications respecting the encouraging commencement of our Mission in KUMASI, the capital of ASHANTI. When we published, in the double Number of our "Notices" for the month of January, 1840, the deeply-interesting Journal of the Rev. Thomas B. Freeman's first visit of observation to that place, after adverting to the obvious necessity for "the exertions of evangelical philanthropy," we further inferred, from Mr. Freeman's statements, "the probability that such exertions would be favourably received, and would, by the blessing of God, be eventually crowned with success." It cannot fail to gladden the hearts of those Christian friends of various denominations, who have evidenced the interest which they take in this undertaking, by their liberal contributions in its behalf,-to learn that the Mission has been begun under circumstances still more satisfactory than could have been reasonably anticipated from the narrative, encouraging as it was, to which we refer; and that present prospects warrant the hope, that a considerable measure of success will be realized at no distant period. For this cheering conclusion they would be partially prepared by letters from the Rev. Messrs. Freeman and Brooking, published in our "Notices" for April, May, September, and October last; but the present communications, from their fulness, and variety of animating details, will greatly deepen the impression which those letters may have made, and will serve to call forth warmer expressions of thankfulness to the Giver of all good, and stimulate to renewed exertions in support of a Mission so auspiciously begun. The first of the Documents which we now give is Mr. Freeman's Journal of his Second Journey to Kumási, embracing all the particulars relating to the commencement of the Mission; and this is followed by extracts of letters which afford a brief view of the operations of the Missionaries down to the latest date.

With these communications relating to Ashánti, we deem it right to connect information respecting the progress of the Missions on the GOLD-COAST, and the arrangements for placing again under the pastoral care of our Missionaries a considerable number of our people who have been led, by a train of unexpected events, to remove from Sierra-Leone, and settle at BADAGRY.

We will not detain our friends by any lengthened observations of our own, but at once invite them to the rich enjoyment which the following pages will afford.

I. THE ASHANTI JOURNAL.

JOURNAL OF THE REV. THOMAS B. FREEMAN, ON A SECOND VISIT FROM CAPE-COAST CASTLE TO ASHANTI: UNDERTAKEN FOR THE PURPOSE OF COMMENCING A MISSION AT KUMASI, THE CAPITAL OF ASHANTI.

From November 6th, 1841, to February 9th, 1842.

SATURDAY, Nov. 6th, 1841.-All things being ready, after immense trouble in preparation, at half-past twelve P. M. we started on our journey to Kumási. Our party consists of the two Princes, Henry Smith, Esq., (who thinks of accompanying us to the River Prah,) the Rev. Robert Brooking, my Interpreter, our servants, about a hundred and fifty carriers from the Coast, a hundred and sixty Ashánti carriers, and a Sergeant and six soldiers from the Fort. The party may altogether amount three hundred and forty men.

to

The most difficult part of the work of the journey is that of getting up the carriage, which the Committee has sent out as a present for the King. The narrowness of the road in many places impeded us very much; and, night coming on before we could reach a croom with the body of the carriage, we were obliged to leave it on the side of the road, in the charge of a few men; after which we proceeded to the croom.

The men who carried our clothes, provisions, &c., not being aware of our detention with the carriage, had proceeded to a distant croom, where I had informed them we should stop for the night. In consequence of this, we were obliged to retire to rest without any evening's refreshments; and, as our mattresses were taken forward, scme, nearly all, of us had to sleep on the ground, in small huts. John Ansah slept in his basket, and I spread my cloak on the ground.

Sunday, 7th.-Early in the morning many of our carriers returned with some of our clothes, provisions, &c.

At about ten minutes before twelve A. M. we held divine service: Mr. Brooking read prayers, and I preached from part of 2 Cor. v. It was an interesting service many of our carriers were present. Lord, let thy blessing attend thy word!

About five-and-twenty minutes before three P. M. we had a short but heavy shower of rain, with some thunder.

Last night the men who stopped to

William Quantamissah, and John Ansah, who had accompanied the Niger Expedition from England as far as Cape-Coast Castle.-EDIT.

take care of the carriage saw a very large horned snake: they could not ascertain its length; but it was in cir cumference about the size of a man's

arm.

I have now spent another Sabbath in the wilderness. What a mercy it is that my lot was cast in a land of Bibles! How great are my privileges above those of the poor Pagans around me! O God,

"I take the blessing from above,

And wonder at thy boundless love!"

8th. We started from Inkubem at six A. M. The men travel much better with the carriage this morning. We reached Asabu at a quarter before eight A. M., where we stopped to breakfast. The morning was very fine, and the appearance of the country very beautiful, with a balmy atmosphere. The plantstions of plantains, &c., are in splendid condition cana Indica is in full bloom in every direction.

After breakfast we again resumed our journey. The heat was very oppressive. impeded our progress very much. We We were overtaken by heavy rain, which stopped to change our wet clothes for dry ones, and also to dine, at Akroful. We started from Akroful at a quarter past three F. M., and reached Tukwah at halfpast five P. M., where we stopped for the night. The crooms we have passed through to-day are all small. The carriage has given us an immense deal of trouble, and very much impeded our progress. We are not more than one fair day's journey from Cape-Coast, though we have been a day and a half actually travelling. To-morrow we intend to try to get the carriage drawn, instead of carried; as the labour of carrying it is too much for any men, even natives, te contend with, in a climate so hot and exhausting. I trust we shall at last succeed in getting the carriage to Kumási, as it will be a most extraordinary thing, and, I trust, operate favourably en the King's mind.

The fire-flies are very numerous around us this evening: many of them are flying about our little tent, and emit ting their faint but beautiful rays.

O God, my God, how excellent is thy